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is / is not / am / am not

If I had to categorise this unruly thing, I’d say it’s poemical, not polemical. It’s not really a blog about art, not in any sort of analytical way. I don’t take a stance; I’m neither critic nor academic. What I am, actually, is an unruly hoyden with a permanent case of chaoshead, a throbbing love-on for the made things of the world, and a hot ‘n’ saucy need to write things down, to write things out (as you’ll know if you’re one of the people I e-mail 972 times a week. [Hi, forbearing friends! Love ya! Smooches!])
Anyway, I have a tendency to want to resist and reject categorisation because I don’t like being limited. I mean, why go there? I don’t wanna say I write a blog about art because a) it’s not true and b) it’s limiting. I write a blog that uses a lot of art and great-looking stuff in an illustrative way, but mostly I don’t write about art. I’m not an art-blogger — not that there’s anything wrong with being that, I’m just not one.

Here’s what I’d say about myself: I’m a celebrationist. I take immense pleasure in the good delectable nutrients art and craft and design offer, and I like to celebrate made things that strike me as interesting and compelling. I am unrigorous and unacademic in this regard. When a song or a poem or a painting or a fishing lure or a kitchen table or an ad campaign or a pair of shoes gives me a happy moment of “Holy! Shit!” and a delicious shiver or two, well, that’s what it’s all about for me.

It’s the animal self response to stuff; I crave and value the visceral, always. I’m not against parsing the sentence or being examinatory or analytical; it’s just not what I want to do here. There are many writers out there much better positioned to do that than me. Personally, I don’t want to make arguments for or against. I just want art to be the fulcrum of my launch towards goosebump and epiphany and joy. I just want to hear the beautiful music and feel the beautiful heartpound.

It was when I was in art school I realized that I did not want to be a professional artist. I had a design teacher (whom I despised wholeheartedly) and she would say at the start of each lecture, “When you’re working for Hallmark…” I don’t know if she said it to be funny or if she said it because she has a tiny, shrunken black little soul and wanted to get back at the world. Couldn’t say (she was so awful). But one thing she taught me is that being a professional artist was something I couldn’t be. I’m lucky enough now that I can make a bit of scratch doing what I enjoy doing (creation!) but I don’t have the stones to really be professional about it. For the reasons you stated above. Yep.

Fuck all academia and its categorizations and hierarchies. I’m doing my MFA now and I can say in all honesty that I was better before I started here, as a professional artist. I feel an overwhelming desire to kick administrative ass and laugh in some faces. This is an art and writing blog, and it is very professionally put together, AND enjoyable, whether you like it or not! That’s what I think.